MONROVIA – A foreign mission worker based in the United States has strongly criticized the Liberian government’s decision to recall 54 out of 68 foreign mission workers for revetting. The worker questioned the criteria used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee to label the majority as incompetent. Furthermore, the worker expressed doubts about the standards applied to determine that the remaining eight met the required criteria.
“In the first place, how would they say they will repatriate diplomats? Diplomats are not repatriated. This even tells me they either do not know what they are doing, or they are just out for a witch-hunt,” the foreign mission employee stated. “You cannot repatriate diplomats; you can either recall them or reassign them. So, to recall them, you must give them their moving cost and buy their plane tickets. So, I really want to understand what they mean by repatriation. Since we came, they have not even paid us. Six months we’ve been here and have received no salary. The Liberian government owes us.”
Last week, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Sen. Abraham Darius Dillon, announced the government’s intention to “repatriate” 54 foreign service workers who were assigned nearly at the end of George Weah’s regime.
“Approximately 54 out of 68 of those serving in foreign service did not meet the criteria set by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Many were not transported or deployed according to protocol; they simply wanted to leave,” Senator Dillon stated.
The Committee on Foreign Affairs summoned officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address issues concerning these foreign service employees. Following the hearing, Senator Dillon highlighted that the Ministries of Finance and Development Planning and Foreign Affairs, in accordance with legislative oversight, would initiate the repatriation of the unqualified individuals.
The Montserrado County lawmaker described the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ report on these employees as damaging, noting that foreign service employees fall into various categories, each being addressed accordingly.
“There are established criteria for serving in foreign service. One cannot simply be assigned without meeting these standards. However, when you inherit a problematic situation, it needs to be addressed,” Senator Dillon emphasized.
Rebuffing Sen. Dillon’s statement, the foreign service employee who spoke to The Liberian Investigator on the basis of anonymity said that when they were assigned, the Liberian government at the time informed them that it was unable to purchase plane tickets due to budgetary constraint. Consequently, those who could afford to purchase their tickets from the moving cost given were asked to do so and present a receipt for reimbursement.
“Anyone who says we came here on our own might have been misinformed or intentionally making up stories to accomplish an aim. How would an individual or a group of people just leave their country and go and assign themselves to another country on a foreign mission? It does not make sense. The government of Liberia sent us here, the government here recognized us and gave us State ID, and we have been working. So, how would they say we just came here on our own?” the diplomat further explained.
The diplomat emphasized that besides their academic qualifications, they underwent intensive training several months prior to the elections. “These foreign governments went through our credentials and accepted us several months before the elections. This did not happen overnight. If we did not qualify, the host countries would not have accepted our credentials and assigned us State IDs,” the diplomat added.
Meanwhile, the Association of African Diplomats has urged the Liberian Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs to refrain from basing their final decisions on the Investigation Report of the Special Committee constituted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, focusing on the foreign service officers assigned from July 2023 to February 2024.
According to them, the prevailing sentiment is that the report is biased and compromised due to conflicts of interest among the committee members involved in its creation. Their deep political affiliations and direct involvement in the matter under investigation have raised doubts about the objectivity and integrity of the report.
The Association of African Diplomats, in their press statement, alleged that the committee members who conducted the investigation had significant conflicts of interest, as their interests and potential future employment opportunities were linked to the outcomes of the investigation.
“This conflict may have influenced the direction and conclusions of the report, undermining its credibility and impartiality,” the press statement indicated.
They added, “The fact that the members of the committee previously served as advisors on the Policy Advisory Council (PAC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the previous administration adds another layer of complexity to the situation. Their past actions had been criticized by the new government, prompting the need for an investigation into their conduct. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that some members of the committee were concurrently seeking employment opportunities within the new government, creating a potential conflict of interest.”
The African Diplomats stated that they are not taken aback by the outcome of the investigative report as it could have been influenced or intertwined with relationships and interests.
“Given these serious reservations, we call upon the National Legislature to take decisive action by convening a joint committee to thoroughly and fairly examine the issue at hand. By forming a joint committee comprising unbiased and independent members, the National Legislature can ensure a just and transparent evaluation of the situation,” they stated.
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